Alien vs. Rayman FINAL CHAPTER!

[spiraldoor]

oh yeah great, kill another awesome character.

He had a cool death.

[Lachimax]

Hi, spiraldoor. Good to see you on both forums.

[Beebop]

He is a very active member thankfully.

[Holy Crap]

but only in the rayman ection really.

[spiraldoor]

Yeah. I figure if you're on a Rayman website, you should mainly talk about, well, about Rayman.

[Holy Crap]

It's not just fopr talking about rayman.

[Shawn]

Yeah. I practically live in the Off Topic forum.

[Holy Crap]

Playing games. I get sick of them after a while, the member's forum is where it's at!

[Shawn]

Yeah, that, and the off-topic forums are just plain fun.

[spiraldoor]

Actually, I set up a rather interesting poll in the Members Forum...

[Holy Crap]

Not really.

[spiraldoor]

Yes really.

Now NEVER insult my poll again...or I'll make a similar one with YOUR name in place of mine!

[Lachimax]

Yay!

Chapter 7: The Caves of Skops

Razorbeard stepped over the body of the vanquished spider-king Eregata, and began to climb the steps to his prize. Sand fell like waterfalls around him, and the ornately carved decorations on the walls around him shone. His pet Raylien towered behind him. He held his Form Baton ready.
He reached the top of the stairs. Before him was a large, round platform, made from yellow stone. Surrounding it was a pool of quicksand.
In the centre was a square, stone pillar. Razorbeard walked towards it, staring at it. He held his Form Baton high, and stopped before it.
The Form Baton glowed with energy, and a bolt of lightning appeared between it and the top of the pillar, playing between them. Then it stopped.
The pillar slid off of its base, revealing a hole in it.
Inside the hole was a dusty, old book.
Razorbeard would have grinned if he had anything resembling a mouth.
“We’re in business.”

A tear slid down Rayman’s cheek as he fought for his life. One of his best friends, Clark the Giant, was gone.
Christian, Lachimax, Mr. Dark and Ly fought beside him. Mr. Dark blasted Aliens out of his way with nothing but his mind, Christian slashed at them with his Form Baton, Lachimax twirled his spear in increasingly intricate combat moves, and Ly threw fireballs into the Aliens.
Christian pressed several buttons on his Form Baton, and a steady stream of flame began to pour from the end. The Aliens shied from it, snarling in anger. The five fighters escaped through the gap, running down the tunnel, Murfy following them close behind. Again.
They reached the place where they had left Globox and Uglette. Neither of them was there.
“That bloody coward...” muttered Rayman.
They turned off at the first tunnel they found. Mr. Dark raised his hands to the roof, and commanded the rocks to do his bidding.
They did.
The stone came alive, closing the entrance of the side tunnel and sealing the tunnel off from any Aliens that might attempt to follow them.
“But then nobody else will be able to get through...”
“If anybody else has survived, they’ll find another way out,”
Lachimax spoke into his headset: “This is Hybrid Knaaren, repeat, Hybrid Knaaren. Is there anyone out there?”
For a few moments, silence. Then the headpiece spluttered to life. “This is Purple Terror, repeat, Purple Terror. I’m heading back the way we came. We are under pursuit by Aliens. With me are Stonehead, Huntress and... What the hell? We just found Uglette and the kids. They’re running with us now. Hell knows how they got down here so quickly...”
“Is Globox with them?”
“Negative on that, sir,”
“Okay, Purple Terror. Go out the way you came. From what Christian has told us, these things are essentially nocturnal and they might back off in the light...”
“They won’t,” spoke Christian. “They’ll follow them, trust me,”
“Fine. If you can get out into the open and pick them off with guns, you might stand a chance,”
“Great. See you on the other side. Over and out,”
“Now to see what we can see...” said Christian, his voice penetrating the absolute darkness. Then there was a light, coming from the Form Baton. It illuminated the entire tunnel...
Revealing Globox, huddled in a corner, shaking and crying.
“Globox!”
He looked up.
“Rayman, I’m a worthless plum-sniffer. I lost Uglette!”
Rayman sat down next to him and patted his back. “It’s okay, Globox. She’s with CODEFS now. She’ll be alright,”
Globox sniffed. “An Alien came down the tunnel. We ran, but Uglette and the kids went the other way. Oh, Gaseous Gloop... Our other kids are out there too, you know. Gilly died, but there are another six hundred out on their own, fending for themselves against Razorbeard and the Aliens...”
He burst into tears again.
Rayman hugged him awkwardly.
Murfy’s voice interrupted this moment. “Sorry to interrupt, but shouldn’t we get moving?”
The considerably reduced band walked through the tunnel, ever vigilant. Eventually the tunnel began to open out. The walls began to change colour, going from dull brown, dirt walls to purplish, stone ones. Finally, the companions emerged into a huge cavern, with a vast lake in the centre. It was surrounded by naturally formed stone pillars, and there were many overhanging platforms. Hovering in the air were herds of Purple Lums, roaming throughout the cavern.
“I know this place...” said Rayman. “I’ve been here before. This is the Cave of Skops!”
“Yes,” said Murfy, ever the man of few words. Or the flying frog with few words. If that is what Murfy is.
“But how did we get here? Clearleaf Forest is miles away,”
“The Rabbid Tunnels link many distant places, it seems,” Murfy replied.
“This place is almost directly below my old hideout,” said Mr. Dark. “I remember luring Mister Skops too you to prevent you from reaching me,”
“Yeah. Good times, huh?”
Nobody could see Dark’s face through the shadows that obscured it, but he was smiling. “Yes. Good times,”
I guess it’s safe to rest here for a while, said Ly.
So they did. The group found a flat, bare space and lay down. And, to the dripping of water throughout the cavern, Rayman began to doze.

The Tower of the Leptys

“Hey, look! It’s more of Andre’s little buddies! Wonder if they want to play?”
“Shut up Globox, and keep driving!”
Rayman flipped backwards into the reverse facing seat behind Globox’s, and gripped the gun turret. He pointed it at the stream of Hoodlum shuttles coming towards their own, and let fly with a burst of green laser. The Hoodlum shuttles burst into flame, falling, crashing into the ground far below. The Black Lums within the Hoodlum suits escaped from the fireballs, flying upwards.
Suddenly, the shuttle jerked, veering off course. “What are you doing, Globox?” he shouted.
He heard a hissing, snarling sound from right behind him, and turned...
To find that Globox was no longer there.
In his place was an Alien.

“Rayman, wake up!”
Rayman’s eyes sprung open. He was in the Cave of Skops. The event in his dream had happened almost two years ago, after Andre the Black Lum had escaped from the confines of Globox’s digestive system. Except for the part with the Alien.
Rayman rolled over to find Globox staring at him in concern. “You were tossing and turning. I woke you up,”
“Thanks for that, Globox,” Rayman said.
“We’re gonna move out soon. Mr. Dark has a plan of action,”
Rayman stood up, looked around. He guessed that it was probably around midday outside, but he couldn’t tell the difference in here. Mr. Dark and Lachimax were conversing close by, discussing what to do next. Mr. Dark had produced a map, seemingly out of nowhere, and was showing it to Lachimax.
“If we head up this passage, we will be dead on course for Candy Chateau. I have a few devices there that could help us out,”
“Alright, but I have heard of this place. The Caves of Skops are reputedly guarded by a huge scorpion creature, Mister Skops...”
“They are,” said Rayman. Both Lachimax and Mr. Dark turned to face him. “But Mister Skops will not attack us unless we provoke him directly. If we stay clear of his cave, he will leave us alone,”
Rayman could sense Mr. Dark was smiling within the shadows of his hat. “As you so unwisely did, all those years ago,”
“Yes. So, what’s the plan?”
“We head up, as steeply as we can, towards Candy Chateau. We plan to use it as a base, as it is well protected from any threat,”
“Excellent. Finally, we will no longer be running from these things,”
Lachimax glanced at Christian. “Plus, on the way there, you might be able to talk to Christian,”
Rayman caught his meaning.

The considerably smaller party moved out shortly after, following Mr. Dark’s map of the Caves. He led them ever upwards, through the labyrinth of huge caverns and underground caves. And as they marched, Rayman talked to Christian.
“How did those Rabbids die? We came out and they were served on a platter!”
“It was a Yautja, better known as a Predator to other species. The Yautja are a race of technologically advanced trophy hunters. They have developed a cloaking device system, which renders them near-invisible. Although they do have high standards of technology on their home planet, they prefer to use simpler weapons in their hunts, such as blades and throwing weapons. Though a favourite weapon of theirs, the plasma caster, is fairly advanced. But do not underestimate them because of their weapons. The Predators have, and always will be, deadly efficient hunters,”
That explains the running, said Ly, listening in behind them.
“Yes. A single Yautja can take down a squad of trained Special Forces soldiers with ease. The history of the xenomorphs is tied closely with that of the Yautja. They used them for hunting, considering them the ultimate prey. Aliens were often used in rites of passage. If you killed a xenomorph, you were a true hunter. But the Yautja have been silent for many years now. They supposedly died out in... an accident on their homeworld. But I always suspected there were survivors,”
“Okay... so there’s one here, and he’s hunting the Aliens?”
“Apparently. Though we should steer clear of him or her,”
Any further conversation was cut off by Mr. Dark cursing. “Damn it! The passage is blocked!”
“What!?”
“A rockslide or something...”
And, indeed, a rockslide had blocked their path. They were on a raised path on the wall of one cave, high in the air. A long drop ended in a vast lake below them.
“We’ll have to backtrack. There are alternate routes, though not as quick or safe,”
“We have no other choice,”

So they backtracked.

Eventually they found themselves inside a slightly smaller cave, one with a lake of bubbling lava replacing those of water in the other caves. In the middle of the cave, on a raised platform, was a massive pile of gold, jewels and other treasures, almost equal to the stockpile of the Cave of Bad Dreams.
Fast asleep, on a winding path which led to the treasure, was a massive scorpion.
Mister Skops.
His head rested on his single, disembodied claw, snoring contentedly. His tail lay curled around his body.
Rayman looked sharply to Mr. Dark. “You didn’t tell me we were coming here!”
Dark bowed his head. “It is the only way through. We have no choice. Besides, there is a pathway around the edge of the cavern. We can avoid Skops completely,”

At that very moment, several Aliens were crawling across the ceiling.

Globox was the first to spot them. “ALIENS!”
Christian ignited his Form Baton sword. “Not more of these mother...”
They could only watch as the Aliens dropped onto Skops’ back, waking him instantly. The giant scorpion roared, attempting to shake the xenomorphs off. He impaled one on his tail, apparently unaffected by the acid blood, and gripped another in his claw. But there were many of them, and they began to drive Skops towards Rayman and the others.
Lachimax turned to them. “Quickly, follow the path around the outside!”
But there were more Aliens appearing by the second, and several of them had dropped in the companions’ way. Rayman turned to see that there were more where they had come from.
They were trapped.
“Polokus’s vodka...”
The companions fought. There were dozens of Aliens, and they drove the party down the narrow walkway.
Straight towards Skops.
Rayman swept an Alien off the path with his feet, knocking it into the lava. It died without a sound. Globox began to dance, calling a small thunderstorm to strike at the xenomorphs. But, despite their efforts, they were driven, slowly but inexorably, towards Skops.
Finally, there was nothing between them. Skops, unable to get rid of his Alien attackers, turned on Rayman’s companions in anger. He grabbed Lachimax in his claw, throwing him to the ground. His tail struck, fast as lightning. It missed once, as Lachimax rolled, but was poised for another strike.
The end of his tail whizzed through the air...
And was blocked by the blade of an axe.
An axe held by something half-dog, half human.

[spiraldoor]

Whoa...

[Holy Crap]

Ah, it would seem that you're incorporating other fancharacters.

[Lachimax]

Wow, this was quick for me. New chapter! Only about three or four left!

Chapter 8: Xenoborg

The dog-man knocked Skops’ tail away with the shaft of his axe, then slashed at his head. Skops reared away. His small, insectoid mind was overwhelmed by the different, confusing creatures surrounding him, and began to retreat.
That left the Aliens to deal with.
The dog-man offered a hand to Lachimax. Lachimax took it, and was pulled to his feet.
An Alien hissed menacingly and stabbed at the dog-man with its tail. An owl talisman on his neck glowed suddenly, and a small force field appeared around him, blocking the blow and causing the Alien to shriek in pain. The dog-man swung his axe, which had a flag attached to the shaft, with frightening ferocity and speed. Alien parts flew, and with the help of the others, the dog-man carved a swathe through them. The acid from the Aliens’ blood seemed to avoid him completely, landing around him.
They headed towards the treasure pile, as the flood of Aliens the other way was too big. They reached the pile, which Skops was now on top of.
“Get back!” the dog-man shouted in a low, growling voice. He turned towards the narrow walkway, raised his axe, and whispered “Help me!”
The eyes of his owl talisman glowed violet.
The dog-man brought his axe crashing down, cracking the very rock of the walkway. The crack ran along the entire path, between Aliens’ legs.
Then, suddenly, the walkway collapsed into the lava. The Aliens died shrieking, their acidic blood steaming in the molten rock.
And then, all was quiet.
The dog-man turned towards Rayman, Lachimax, Christian, Globox, Murfy and Ly.
“The name’s Bloodgrey,”

Bloodgrey’s legs, arms and most of his body were that of an extremely muscular human. He was covered from head to toe in fine, black fur, and his head was that of a fearsome dog. His eyes were orange, and he hefted his massive axe with ease. He also had the tail of a dog. Around his neck, a small owl talisman hung, with tiny, clear-crystal eyes.
“Where the hell did you come from?” demanded Christian.
“I was in the neighbourhood and I decided to drop by. You people weren’t doing so hot on your own,”
Rayman offered his hand in friendship. “You’re right. Thank you. You saved us,”
Bloodgrey shouldered his weapon. “Don’t mention it. Now, you’d better get out of here, before Scorpius Brainless gets down here,”
He pointed up to the tip of the mountainous treasure pile, where Skops was slowly making his way down.
“What, you’re not coming with us?” said Globox in alarm.
“Pfffft. No. I fly solo. I helped you guys out, so now I’m off again,”
Lachimax stepped in front of him. “I highly recommend you don’t. Those Alien things are everywhere, and they are extremely dangerous,”
“Yeah, so get your hairy behind over here!” Murfy, of course.
Bloodgrey seemed to reconsider. “Alright. I guess I could hang with you guys for a while. These things are kinda annoying,”

Candy Chateau, Deep Cellar

Deep within the basement of the labyrinthine Candy Chateau, a chocolate trapdoor slid away. First to exit was Murfy, whizzing straight upwards. Following closely was Mr. Dark, then Rayman. They gazed around, Mr. Dark taking in his old base of operations, Rayman taking in the huge building he had once attacked in order to take back the Heart of the World. He had also faced... dark things... here. Things brought about by Mr. Dark to stop him. He had lost control of his body, been made to fight horrible hybrids, even battling an evil version of himself, one that followed his every move. But that was all in the past now. He would never fully trust Mr. Dark, but he would also no longer see him as an enemy.
So, this is where you defeated Mr. Dark?
Rayman turned to see Ly, gazing around at the cellar.
“Yes,”
Ly looked deep into his eyes. There she saw the ghost of a haunting past. This being, her partner, had been through so much at the hands of his enemies. First Mr. Dark and his monsters, then Admiral Razorbeard hunting him down and almost killing his friends, then Andre, and then the time he had never talked about... The time he and several of Globox’s children had been taken by the Rabbids to another world, another time. And more recently, the war against the Robo-Pirates and the attack of the xenomorphs.
They made their way out of the basement into the main Chateau. Massive towers of pink cotton candy towered above them. Chocolate staircases led to laboratories, where Mr. Dark had conducted his research. Chandeliers of candy canes hung from the ceiling.
And everywhere, evidence of the recent Robo-Pirate invasion lay.
Not only was the wreckage of their equipment covering every metre of space, but when their home planet, Rachara, had been destroyed, the Pirates had simply stopped working. Their empty metal bodies lay everywhere, some on the ground, some remaining upright. It was very spooky, seeing them all standing there, staring eerily into space. Rayman flicked one on the forehead, and it fell backwards, clunking to the ground.
“What now?” asked Lachimax.
Mr. Dark was already halfway up a staircase.
“Now we plan,” he called.

Christian was the last out of the cellar.
Before he left, he heard a sound behind him. With lightning-quick reflexes, he span around and ignited his Form Baton in one swift movement...
Blocking the wrist blades of a Predator.
Christian smiled grimly. “Yautja,”
The Predator spoke in its harsh, guttural language. “Semi-Ray,”
Christian lowered his weapon. The Yautja followed suit. It was very tall, almost seven feet. Its fleshy dreadlocks swung when it moved.
“Your race always was too clever for its own good, Predator. We Semi-Rays always advised against your abuse of the xenomorph race,”
The Predator lowered its head. “Yes. They got out of hand, most explosively. We thought they were under control. We were wrong. One or two Facehuggers escaped, and they were breeding in the sewer system without our knowledge,”
“Why are you here?”
“I am here to redeem my race. I plan to kill the queen,”
“There may be more than one by now,”
“One at a time, then,”
“Well, maybe between us, we can succeed,”
“Yes. Maybe,”
Christian turned away from the Yautja. “But if you touch my friends, you will not live to regret it,”
The Predator nodded, then turned away. It shimmered, then was gone.

Razorbeard’s Warship, The Menhir Hills

Razorbeard lowered his Form Baton, his dread work done.
Before him lay a work of genius.
He had imprisoned Polokus. He had acquired a Form Baton. He had unleashed xenomoprhs upon Rayman’s world. He had created the Raylien, who obeyed his every command. He had uncovered directions to the Sacred Balance Stone. All were steps in his grand master plan.
This was another of these steps.
On the table before him was what had once been an Alien.
Its basic structure remained intact, but its spine and exoskeleton had been strengthened with metal. On its left arm was a Robo-Pirate General Purpose Laser. Half of its skull had been cut away, to be replaced with metal shell. It now had an electronic eye on the left hand side of its head, where an organic eye would be if Aliens had them. Implanted in its head was a small computer, with a modified Robo-Pirate Henchman 5000 program, controlling, but not dampering, the Alien’s instincts, increasing its intelligence and its already excellent reflexes.
The strength, speed, stealth and killer instinct of a xenomorph spliced with the technology and intelligence of a Robo-Pirate.
And completely under Razorbeard’s control.
Xenoborg.

Candy Chateau, Observation Platform

Mr. Dark looked through his trusty binoculars, their magical lenses allowing him to view the Fairy Council many hundreds of miles away. He handed them to Christian, pointing him in the right direction. “Where would the Queen be inside that building?”
Christian scanned the exterior of the Fairy Council. He could not see any Aliens, but they generally did not venture outside at daytime unless they needed to.
“The Queen Xenomorph generally makes her main nest close to a source of power or heat, for reasons unknown: solar batteries, nuclear reactors, anything, really; in this case, a centre of powerful magic,”
Ly thought of the answer first. The Heart of the World!
“Yes. I think it most likely the Queen has made her nest there,”
Rayman clenched his fists. “That is the centre of our world. To think that these monsters are near it, with their slime and corruption...”
Ly put her hand in his. Not for much longer, Rayman. We will drive them away,
“Easier said than done,” muttered Lachimax.
Globox looked at Christian slyly.
“You were gonna say something at the campfire before the Rabbids interrupted us, weren’t you? After Ly mentioned that the Aliens were speaking to her in her head,”
For the first time since Rayman had known him, hope dawned on Christian’s face.
“Yes! I have a way to kill these things!”
He pulled out his Form Baton.
“This device is an incredibly versatile weapon. Depending on how you hold it and which buttons you press, it can become almost three hundred different tools or weapons.
“Amongst those tools is a telepathic amplifier,”
Bloodgrey looked up. “Brilliant!”
Christian looked at him. “What do you know about this?”
A wolf’s grin crossed Bloodgrey’s face. “I know that, with some telepathic hive-based animals, the queen acts as a receptor for the entire hive. What she thinks, they will know about. And, if you use a strong enough signal.... what was that?”
Bloodgrey’s owl talisman’s eyes glowed purple suddenly, and Bloodgrey seemed to start talking to himself.
“Yes, I was about to say that... be quiet a second... yes, if you broadcast a telepathic signal directly into the Queen’s mind, the entire Hive will feel it. And any telepathic animal will die with too strong a telepathic signal. Given the robust nature of the xenomorph mind... I’d say a level of about BASIC 200 would do the trick,”
Rayman and Ly exchanged glances. All had heard Bloodgrey talking to himself.
Christian grinned. “Exactly! AND MY FORM BATON CAN DO IT!”
Lachimax turned to the assembled warriors.
“Ladies and Gentlemen; we have a plan,”

[Holy Crap]

Why didn't he tell them that earlier?!

[spiraldoor]

Skops reared away. His small, insectoid mind was overwhelmed by the different, confusing creatures surrounding him, and began to retreat.

Actually, scorpions are arachnids.

And Skops has four legs and one claw, so, while he is meant to be a scorpion, he is actually some sort of...pentapod...

[Holy Crap]

You realise that it's 2-d? The other 4 legs and single claw are on the other side.

[Lachimax]

No, actually, I think Skops only had one claw and four feet. And I did know that scorpions were Arachnids. But I'm still allowed to say its an insectoid brain, aren't I? After all, I think scorpions have a very similar brain to insects...